ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — The Orange County School Board met with parents Monday evening to discuss a plan to merge two elementary schools.
The plan would affect about 300 students at Durrance Elementary School, which will merge with Cypress Park Elementary School when a new elementary school is built near Orlando International Airport, officials said.
The new school would be built in the area between OIA and the Beachline Expressway, which was not the board’s first choice.
“A school being located in a residential neighborhood is so much better than on a busy highway in an industrial area,” board member Linda Kobert said.
Parent Nathan Boye, whose daughter attends the aviation magnet program at Durrance, was not thrilled with the planned merger.
“If I could magically adjust policy, I would just say keep it as it is,” he said.
The Orange County School Board said the new school, which should be ready by the fall of 2018, would accommodate special needs students at Durrance and would continue the aviation magnet program.
The reasoning behind the merger is it would save the district money and the new school would replace buildings that are more than 50 years old, officials said.
“I’m hoping what they’ll see is what they’re going to get in the end is better than what they have now,” Kobert said.
Cox Media Group
